Monday, December 24, 2012

Pondering, still...

Luke 2:19-20
My first born, a son, was born 32 years ago.
If I close my eyes (and even if I don't)
I see the dark curls clinging to his scalp.
I can hear his father's excited exclamation.
I remember his grandparents' first comments -
The room, those present, even the color of 
the first blanket he was wrapped in.
Those were his first moments, and I treasure them still
and ponder over them from time to time.

Of course Mary treasured these things
and pondered them in her heart!
It must have felt good to have confirmation
of the words the angel had spoken to her
9 month earlier.
Yes, Joseph has believed her, but had anyone
else bought into her wild story?
Did she have to convince herself from time to time
that this was really happening?
That she was to be the mother of the Messiah?
Was it possible, and was she capable?

But now, feeling the rhythmic breathing of her baby boy,
and witnessing the confirmation of the prophesies,
did she dare to believe that this baby would be a King?
Was she, like the rest of nation,
expecting a military king?
Did she think she would one day be the queen mother
of the nation of Israel?
Maybe...maybe not...

But I am confident that she held in her heart
the way he sighed in his sleep,
the shape of his lips, pursed on waking,
the softness of his hair,
the length of his tiny fingers and toes...

Treasuring and pondering.
That's what moms do best,
instinctively,
continually,
lovingly
For a lifetime and beyond.

Merry Christ Mass to all!

3 comments:

  1. Merry Christ Mass Lory! Thank you so much for lighting the fire that became these blogs. My Christmas season hasn't ben perfect but for a few small quiet moments every morning I was still enough to ponder Christ.

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  2. Merry Christmas Merry and Lory. Thanks for this thoughtfully written escape into holiness for a few minutes each day. I've totally enjoyed it. Happy Birthday, Jesus!!

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  3. Thanks, Lory and Merry, for these lovely devotionals. I think Mary treasured these things in her heart because she secretly knew that all that the shepherds shared jived with her own story, told by her own angel - such wonderful confirmation for her! I think the rest of the people dismissed the shepherds and didn't give their words any credence, which is why the verse says "BUT Mary..." Thanks for the reminder of what all mothers do: how they ponder (both at birth and many years later!)about what our children might grow up to be...<3

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